The document serves as a guide on photography basics, including why to take photos, necessary equipment, and key composition techniques. It discusses exposure fundamentals—aperture, shutter speed, and ISO—and offers practical tips for capturing better images, such as considering lighting and point of view. Additionally, it encourages photographers to practice and have fun while developing their skills.

1. How
to
be
a
photographer
Or at least how to fake it

2. So,
you
need
to
take
photos
O Why?
O What do you need them for?
O What are your resources?
O How can you make them look good?

3. Why
take
photos?
O Your boss says you have to.

4. BOSS

5. BOSS

6. BOSS

7. JOE
BOSS

8. Why
take
photos?
O Your boss says you have to.
O You need them for work, maybe to put on
your website or Facebook page.

11. Why
take
photos?
O Your boss says you have to.
O You need them for work, maybe to put on
your website or Facebook page.
O You want to have fun, maybe take some
photos of your great-niece or your soon-to-
be-daughter-in-law.

12. MADDY
DAD

13. ABBY

14. What
will
you
do
with
them?
O Print publication?
O Glossies to hang on the wall?
O Website photos?
O Facebook?
O Give them to someone else?

15. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment

16. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment

17. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment

18. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment

19. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment

20. The
best
camera
to
use
is
the
one
you
have
with
you.

21. What
are
your
resources?
O Equipment
O Models or subjects
O Time
O Assistants (or assistance)
O Software
O Your knowledge and creativity

22. Your
camera
equipment
doesn’t
determine
how
good
your
photos
are.
You
do.

23. The
basics
of
good
photography

24. The
basics
O Composition
O Design rules
O Who, what and how you shoot
O Technical stuff
O Exposure
O Lighting
O Some tips

25. Composition
What’s in your photo and how it's arranged

26. Rule
of
Thirds
When you slice an image in thirds vertically
and horizontally, the main focus of the image
should lie along one of the grid lines.

32. Framing
Showcase the subject of your photo by framing
it with items in the foreground.

36. Background
Be aware of what’s in the background of your
photo.
O Is someone photobombing (accidentally or on
purpose)?
O Are there other people in the photo who are
distracting or look strange?

43. Background
O Is something growing out of someone’s
head?

47. Let’s just pause a moment to consider
how truly bad this photo is.

48. Background
O Is there something you can move so it
doesn’t end up in the photo? (It’s easier to
see it and move it before you shoot than to
take it out in Photoshop later.)

53. Leading
lines
Strong lines or curves in the photo can lead
the eyes into it and make it more visually
appealing.

58. Depth
of
Field:
Short
A very shallow focus in a photo makes much of
the content blurry. This can be good if you
focus on the right thing. It helps calm a busy
background.

64. Depth
of
Field:
Long
Conversely, some subjects need to be tack
sharp throughout the entire image.
Landscapes and group shots are great
examples of when this is necessary.

68. Point
of
View
A lot of photos are taken from the
photographer's height looking down, up, or
straight on. Changing that perspective can be
interesting.
O Get down on a child’s level

72. Point
of
View
A lot of photos are taken from the
photographer's height looking down, up, or
straight on. Changing that perspective can be
interesting.
O Get down on a child’s level
O Find a different angle

76. Journalistic
Style
Who, what and how to shoot something

77. What
is
it?
O Not camera aware
O Sometimes you HAVE to shoot the group shot
or the check passing or the staged photo.
O Take that photo, then take a candid when the
subjects are not paying attention to you.

88. What
is
journalistic
style?
O Not camera aware, not set up
O Catching moments
O Action and interaction

89. Portraits
with
a
twist
Good things can happen.
Be ready.

94. Find
the
moments
Tell people to just do their thing and not worry about you

103. Exposure
Basics
Embrace the Triangle

104. The
Exposure
Triangle
O Aperture
O Shutter Speed
O ISO

106. They’re
interrelated
O To keep the same exposure, when you
change one you have to change another.
O If you make ISO higher, either shutter speed
or aperture had to be lower to keep the
same exposure

107. Aperture
Controls how big the opening of the camera
lens is when you take a picture. The bigger the
opening, the more light comes in.

108. Aperture
O Light into the camera
O Large aperture (small number) means you can
take photos in lower light
O Depth of field
O Large aperture = shallow depth of field
O Small aperture = large depth of field

109. Aperture

110. Why
change
aperture?
O Level of light
O Light is low, bigger aperture
O Light is high, smaller aperture
O Control depth of field
O You want more bokah (blurry background)
O You want everything in focus

111. ISO
O How sensitive to light the camera’s sensor is.
(Use to be the sensitivity of the film)
O Low ISO (100-800):
O Less exposure, not very sensitive
O Very little grain/noise
O High ISO (over 800):
O More exposure, very sensitive
O Can have a lot of grain, depending on the
camera

112. 100 ISO 3200 ISO

113. Why
change
ISO?
O Indoor sporting events. You need the camera
to be more sensitive to light.
O Concerts or somewhere you can’t use flash
O You don’t want to use flash
O Birthday candles
O Natural light
O Set the mood
O You want grain for effect

114. Shutter
speed
O Shutter: The thing that opens to let light into
the camera
O Speed: How fast the shutter opens and
closes
O Measured in seconds and fractions of
seconds

116. Why
change
shutter
speed?
O You want to stop action
O You want to blur something
O Sports: shutter speed over 1/250, at least.
O Important: the lower the shutter speed, the
more you need a tripod!!!!!

124. Lighting

125. Lighting
types
O Natural light
O Sun inside
O Sun outside
O Shade/defused sun
O Artificial
O Flash
O Studio lights

126. Natural
light
O Inside: Put your subject by a window,
preferably with a white sheer curtain over it.

129. Natural
light
O Inside: Put your subject by a window,
preferably with a white sheer curtain over it.
O Outside
O Cloudy day (the best!)
O Full shade (but not too dark)
O Avoid tree shade (too dappled)
O Avoid full sun
O Pick your time of day (morning or evening is
best)

130. Cloudy

131. Dappled

132. Full sun at noon

133. Full shade at noon

134. The golden hour before sunset

135. The golden hour before sunset

136. Full sun

137. Artificial
light
O Flash is very harsh. Try not to use it inside.
O Turn off the auto flash and only use it if you
really have to.
O Flash can help outside to fill in dark spots,
but it doesn’t travel very far.
O Plenty of ways to soften flash with an
externally mounted flash unit on a DSLR. I’m
not covering that here.

138. Flash fired to fill shadows

139. Bad flash inside

140. Photo
tips
You knew there were more

141. Keep
it
clean
O Use lens cleaner or a Lens Pen for a DSLR or
a point and shoot
O Use a cloth (your clean shirt, maybe?) or even
your clean finger to wipe off your phone
lens. Pockets make phone lenses foggy,
linty, and sometimes oily. If your pictures are
foggy or dusty, check the lens.

142. Get
close,
then
closer

143. Look
for
moments

144. Keep
shooting
O Shoot at least 5 shots of everything. More if
you have time

146. Never
shoot
north
Deep shadows on face No shadows on face

147. North

148. East

149. Respect
the
horizon
O Some people like to shoot crooked photos.
That’s OK … unless you’re shooting a
landscape.
O Keep the horizon level.
O If it’s not level in camera, straighten it with
software

155. Turn
people
sideways
O When shooting people, have them turn
slightly to one side or the other. It’s more
flattering.

157. Stay
steady
O Figure out how to press your shutter without
shaking the camera or phone.
O Hold the camera with both hands and brace
your elbows against your sides.
O Don’t hold it out in front of you.
O Breathe out and hold your breath.
O Find something to brace against.
O Use a tripod.

160. Choose
the
highest
quality
O Your camera and your camera phone app
have different resolution settings. Pick the
highest one so you don’t lose detail and so
you can print later if you want.

161. Format
O RAW
O Bigger files
O More control over editing
O Not available on phones or most point and
shoots
O JPG
O Compressed file
O Less control, but still editable

162. Take
time
to
learn
O How does your camera (or the camera on
your phone) work?
O What is the lag time between when you push
the button/touch the screen and when the
photo is taken?
O What settings are available? What can you
change?

163. Technical
stuff
O Back up your photos regularly.
O Get some good photo processing software.
O Lightroom is great for organizing and editing
your photos, and it’s not expensive
O Photoshop is for heavier editing.

164. Have
fun
O Encourage your subjects to have fun. Get
everyone to laugh. Make jokes. Take some
crazy photos.

170. One
final
thing
This is really important!

172. Your
Homework
Shoot Something

174. I’ll
buy
the
coffee
O Take some great (or sorta great) photos of
the conference with your cell phone.
O Tweet your best to me:
O @cathyb651 #photo4non #psuweb
O Deadline: 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 23
O Prize for the best picture
O Starbucks gift card
O Bragging rights

175. Bonus
contest
O Find my son Joe Benscoter at the conference.
O Take his photo doing something interesting. But
be nice!
O Tweet it:
O @cathyb651 #photo4non #psuweb #findJoeB
O @joedrummer8993
O Deadline: 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 23
O Prize for the best picture
O Starbucks gift card
O Bragging rights

176. This
is
Joe
(and
Abby)

177. Helpful
links
Get more information about photography

178. Best
phone
cameras
O Motorola Droid Turbo
O iPhone 6
O Samsung Galaxy S6
O Samsung Galaxy Note 4

179. Apps
and
Software
O Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom package:
$9.99/month
O Camera+
O Pro Camera
O Pixlr Express

180. Exposure
O Learning about exposure
O ISO settings
O Intro to shutter speed
O Aperture
O Exposure triangle explanation
O The Three Basics of Exposure and
Photography (video)

181. Camera
usage
O Using Auto to learn Manual
O Aperture and shutter priority modes
O National Geographic camera phone tips

182. Composition
Rules
O Four rules of photographic composition
O 10 more quick composition tips
O 9 tips for getting the background right
O 12 Tips for Improving Camera Phone Photos

183. Cathy
Benscoter
cbenscoter@psu.edu
724-­‐773-­‐3807